Obama's methane rule an aggressive step toward tackling climate change

White House announces new regulations to cut methane emissions - a climate pollutant - from the oil and gas industry almost in half

The Obama administration announced on Thursday new rules to cut methane emissions from the oil and gas industry almost in half - tackling a powerful climate pollutant in the president's final months in the White House.

The rules, stronger than earlier proposals, are aimed at reducing methane emissions from the US by 40% to 45% over 2012 levels by 2025 by requiring companies to capture gas from oil wells, and find and plug pipeline leaks. America is currently the world's largest oil and gas producer.